KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday issued notices to the federal and provincial authorities on a petition filed by eight women lawyers against the Aurat March.

The petitioners had moved the SHC, asking it to restrain the respondents and other organisations from “illicit and immoral activities including dance, rallies carrying immodest and rebellious slogans on placards and banners”.

Citing the ministry of interior, chief secretary, home secretary, deputy commissioner (south), inspector general of police (IGP), Pakistan Electric Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) and Arts Council of Pakistan as respondents, the petitioners submitted that such activities and programmes may not be promoted on the media.

They argued that Aurat March would be acceptable and more appealing to the majority of the people if it worked within the cultural values of the country’s Islamic society.

However, they alleged that the Aurat March was not being organised for the sake of women’s rights or reflecting issues of Pakistani women but to “promote vulgarity and destroy culture and social norms”.

They also contended that in the presence of laws for protections of women’s rights, holding such “anti-social and anti-Islam rally could be a cause of disorder in the city/country”.

A two-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, took up the matter for hearing and asked the lawyer for petitioners whether the organisers of Aurat March had been cited as respondents in the petition.

The counsel sought time to amend the title of the petition to name additional respondents. The bench issued pre-admission notices to the respondents as well as federal and provincial law officers with direction to file comments.

Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2024